Johnny Depp To Play Pancho Villa…Wait, What?
17 July 2009, 3:21 PM. By Jack Tomas
Johnny Depp, Hollywood star and floppy hat enthusiast, has decided to take on an even stranger part than Captain Jack Sparrow…a Mexican.
That’s right hermanos, 21 Jump Street is going to play Pancho Villa in the upcoming film Pancho Villa and the Woman with Six Fingers. Pancho Villa was, of course, one of the chubby leaders of the Mexican revolution that overthrew the government of asshole caudillo Victoriano Huerta. Villa was portrayed most recently by another ball of sexy hunkatude, Antonio Banderas in the HBO film And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself, but at least he is Hispanic. Of course this phenomenon is nothing new.
Our non-Latino friends have been portraying us since Hollywood began. Ironically, Latino stars were forced to change their names to appear non-ethnic (Anthony Quinn, Martin Sheen, and Rita Hayworth) only to have Latino parts played by Whitey McGringopants.
Charleston Heston played a Mexican in Touch of Evil, Marlon Brando was Emiliano Zapata in Zapata! for God’s sake. Who can forget American sweetheart Natalie Wood as a Puerto Rican in West Side Story, or Robby Benson playing a cholo in Walk Proud. It’s like a lo of things with American popular culture, they want to experience the exotic and “ethnic” as long as it is done in a safe controlled environment, sort like the World Pavilions at Disney World, where you can walk in a sterilized stereotype laden caricature of each country.
Personally we think Luis Guzman would be an awesome Pancho Villa.
Johnny Depp Plays The Role Of Pancho Villa [Blic Online]
(5) 
Post Your Comment
Did you know you can now share a link, image or video?
Click to submit your own notas.
Depp as Pancho Villa…I’m upset yet strangely aroused!
I wish they got Danny Trejo instead…would’ve been badass.
Right on with the Luis Guzman choice for old Dorothy Aranga! And if Depp is going to put on brown face for any part, he’d be much more suited for Zapata.
Yeah, Johnny also struck me as more suited for Zapata. Also, a high quality, well produced, well acted, well funded, well written movie about Villa and Zapata and their interesting intertwining lives needs to happen someday. It’s just so ripe for a good yarn…
Sorry guys, but saying only Latino actors should play “Latino parts” is dangerously close to saying Latino actors should ONLY play Latino parts. Your argument sounds pretty ethnocentric and it cuts both ways.
You play someone who you’re not. Thats what acting is. Depp as Pancho Villa is going to be freakin great. He’s one of the best actors around and people are complaining? Are you serious? Im Mexican myself and feel immensely proud that people from other backgrounds want to play Mexicans. Especially some of the best in the business. If you only want Latino actors to play Latino parts… stick with the stupid telenovelas.